Chapter 7 - The Road to Castell y Blaenoraid (and more lessons) …
The next day they set out early after a good breakfast. They walked for some time before Llewel started to talk, or should we say lecture. First, he talked about wands and staffs, the different woods, and the power of the stones, he then went through Tom’s staff, itemising each attribute.
“Oak is for strength and endurance powerful in war and battle," he said. It was word for word what the Wand Tree had said, and which Tom had then related to Llewel. But then he added, "but what does that mean? Eh boy? What does that mean?”
He didn’t wait for an answer, which was just as well, as Tom hadn’t one anyway.
“Well, you can harness the power of the wood, oak is an extraordinarily strong and hardwood, used to build great structures, call upon it when you need strength, visualise it helping you. For example, if you are tired and flagging, you can use a staff to help you on your way, anyone can do that with any bit of wood. But with the magic of an oaken staff, you can draw down strength and endurance from the very trees around you, you could walk or even run for days if required without getting tired. You could even summon the trees of the forest to march with you as a great army. You could draw that strength into your body from the trees. Oh, such power you have in your staff and wand,” he trailed off at the end, almost whimsically, almost as if he coveted Tom’s wand, “but that takes years of practice, and we have not years to practice, only days.”
Tom didn’t know what he meant by that but held the thought in his mind for later discernment.
“Elm is the tree of great wisdom, something you lack now, but the wand will guide you," He continued, again quoting the wand tree, "hold the wand’s crystal and meditate on any problem, and you may receive the answer as a thought on the wind, blown in from the great elm forests of Trymyll where the mystics of the old order live, contemplating life’s problems day and night, seeking wisdom from the forest itself. Of course, you may not get an answer, it all depends, of course, it all depends," Llewel did not elaborate on what it might depend on though.
“And willow, second only to wych-hazel for its healing and restorative powers. But you have not only seen that but remarkably somehow showed that power. Where that came from only the Maker knows. Not even a wizard yet, not even awarded a wizard’s cloak, and yet somehow...”
He drifted off again in his thoughts. He never mentioned the yew wood Tom thought. Then he remembered that he hadn’t told them. “Just keep that to me then,” though he didn’t know why.
“Now, the stone in the top. Diamonds, the giver of light to fight against the darkness of evil and again give great power and strong pure magic when needed for defence or attack, diamond is the hardest material known to man and with it, you will be able to cut through many defensive shields.
Ruby, the firestone, allows you to control fire. It won’t make you a Firemaster, but you will be able to use fire for both attack and defence, and at the other extreme, you can even draw down a little warmth on a cold winter's evening to relieve the chill of the night. And finally, Emerald, the water stone, and giver of life itself. Never have I seen a wand with three kinds of wood and 3 gemstones melded into one. Never...," again, his voice drifted away slowly.
Tom thought about his so-called lesson and realised that Llewel had not taught him anything that the wand tree hadn’t already told him and he, in turn, had relayed to Llewel.
As he finished speaking, over the horizon they could see smoke or dust or something.
“Now what?” said Llewel, mainly to himself, “probably only a dust storm, “he continued answering his own question.
“No!” said Tom, “it’s not.”
“And how would you know?” Llewel sneered.
“I can feel it, it’s moving this way, people on horses and a couple of dragons heading straight for us.”
Llewel and Flintock looked at each other, Flintock with a slight look of worry, Llewel with a dismissive look on his face, rolled his eyes.
Tom slammed his staff into the ground. Around them a thicket began to grow, gorse, brambles, nettles, ivy, and small trees, all intertwined in such a way as to look and feel impenetrable, it grew around them and then arched over them like a dome.
Several minutes later, the hoard galloped past, and the mighty dragons flew above them, scouring the ground for their prey.
Then, as quickly as they arrived, they were gone.
“I was just about to do that,” lied Llewel, “you should not have done that, you don’t have the experience, the control, or the knowledge, you could have smothered us all with that trick, we could all be dead!”
“No,” said Tom, “I envisioned exactly what happened as it happened, developing the thought as I went along, not only enclosing all around us but the top canopy as well so the dragons could not see us and imagined the cavity in which we stood so we would all be safe.”
“I don’t know how you did it,” said Flintock, “but it was powerful and well executed. Tell me again, no tell us again, so Llewel can hear how you formed the thicket” he emphasised the ‘you’ with a hint of sarcasm for Llewel.
“Well, as I said, I didn’t just bang down my staff and form a small thicket, I envisioned what was happening as it happened, so I started with the bushes, trees, thorns, gorse, weaving and developing the thought spells one on another to form first the thick impenetrable outer defence, while also visualising the canopy above and continuing to imagine the clear area where we stand, so it wasn’t a spell like you would normally expect, but a continuously developing interweaving and interwoven envisioning spell of what I was trying to develop. Having said all that, I haven’t a clue what I was saying then and don’t even understand what I just said, or even where that little speech came from!”
“Enough of this nonsense," said Llewel “it was just luck, now we must progress.”
Llewel raised his wand to clear a path out of the thicket.
“Stop,” said Tom, “I haven’t finished....”
Llewel held up his hand to stop him, "I doubt if it is worth hearing, we have no time to stop, we must press on.”
He raised his wand and flicked at the thicket, but nothing happened. He tried again, again nothing, "Staff!” he said, his staff appeared, and he struck it on the ground....... Nothing!
“No,” said Tom, “you stop talking for a while and listen for a change. I also envisioned that only I could break the spell as a precaution against hasty action from either side.”
Again, he had no idea where his words were coming from.
Flintock raised an eyebrow and a small smile. “This should be interesting he thought.”
“You cannot talk to me, a High Elder, like that, how dare you to question my authority.”
“I don’t know what this wand has done to me, but I feel very different now, I feel as if I have all the power the world could offer, so, close it and listen!”
Tom raised his voice and continued, “As far as I’m concerned, you have no authority. Not over me anyway. I didn’t want to be here; I still don’t want to be here. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been kidnapped by a small obnoxious and bad-tempered wizard with no manners.”
This time it was different, Tom looked at Llewel straight in the eyes and Llewel had something happen to him for the very first time. He had no answer. But recovered quickly and after some seconds, Llewel started again.
“You need to learn to respect, young man.”
“Wrong, I’ve told you before, you need to earn respect, it doesn’t just happen because you’re a grumpy old wizard or have a grand title!”
Flintock's small smile increased to a small grin. Though still out of sight of Llewel of course.
“That is twice they have nearly found us, so before we go anywhere, we must find out who or what is betraying us," Tom said, now a little calmer, but still quite angry.
“It is obvious to me, it’s the trygall, they have no loyalty to anyone or anything, he must have alerted them when he went out hunting last night.”
“How dare you,” said Flintock, “Tryg is my friend, and he would not betray us, so apologise to Tryg.”
“Perhaps you two are in it together? You and your hideous little friend, both traitors to the cause.”
Flintock flinched as if to go for his wand, but decided better, maiming a high Elder would not go down well with the Council of Elders, he knew he could out magic Llewel at any time, but the council tended to stick together.
“Why don’t you accuse Howel while you’re at it,” said Tom, “after all, he’s not here to defend himself.”
“Well, good point boy, at last you may have said something sensible, yes, it could well be him, I for one have never really trusted dragons,” Llewel said with a certain satisfaction, “I don’t quite know why I have one or even how I come to have one, now I mention it!”
“Stop being stupid,” Tom snorted.
“You’ve gone too far this time,” barked Llewel, “you do not talk to a high Elder like that!”
“Yes, I know, you’re a High Elder of the Council of Band-Aid, you’ve mentioned it before. I said stop it and I meant stop! Staff!” said Tom.
Tom’s staff appeared in his hand, he placed his left hand around the huge gemstone set in the top, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. Under his hand, you could see lights of every colour swirling in the stone with occasional beams of pure white light darting through the gaps in his fingers.
“Stop it,” said Llewel, “you cannot harness its power like that, it could kill you.”
“Shush,” said Flintock, “be quiet and watch, it is amazing, something neither you nor I have seen before.”
Tom relaxed and the light show stopped.
“It’s you!” Tom suddenly exclaimed, “you’re the one who’s been leading them to us.”
“Rubbish!” exclaimed a very vexed Llewel, “how dare you even suggest such a thing. Why would I? I am a High Elder! How dare you! How very dare you!”
“No. Not you personally, those ridiculous looking trainers you wear are what’s leading them to us.”
“How?”
“I don’t know how or even care how; just take them off.”
Llewel gingerly took off his trainers with a very hang-dog expression, he picked them up off the ground as if they were somehow now disgusting. His socks were almost beyond description, the sock heels were so worn that his grubby ankles looked like potatoes in a netting sack, both his big toes poked out at the front. His feet were appalling, with black dirt under the toenails and a strong smell of something horrid. Llewel started to wave his wand about them and exclaimed.
“A tracking spell, someone has placed a tracking spell on them, I will get rid of it immediately.”
“No,” said Tom, "we can use it to our advantage. Can we get Howel here to help us?”
“And how do you think the dragon can help?” said Llewel regaining his sneer and air of assumed authority.
“Then he can take the trainers, tracking smell and all, sorry, tracking spell and all, and drop them on the far side of Trymyll. Then we’ll see how quickly they sus that one out,” Tom said with almost a smile, “hopefully, by the time they work out our little ruse, we will be in Castle Band-Aid.”
“Agreed,” they both said at once, “but it’s Castell y Blaenoraid, not Band-Aid,” continued Flintock. Llewel agreed with some reluctance, he had quite an attachment to his trainers. He then dug out a more wizardly looking pair of pointy shoes from his bag and put them on. Tom thought that they looked much better than trainers on a wizard.
“We will be very safe to stop here tonight," said Flintock, "here Tryg, do your stuff, we have enough food in store until tomorrow, so if Llewel would be so kind as to summon Howel, his dragon whom he doesn’t really trust, and then we’ll make a plan for tomorrow.”
It appeared even Flintock was getting bolder and jibing Llewel now.
Llewel flicked his wand around, and a small bird appeared in the thicket, he whispered in the bird’s ear, Tom made a small exit gap in the defences and off it went as quick as a flash. Half an hour later they heard wings beating above them as Howel landed. There was an audible pop. Tom envisioned a tunnel into the thicket and in trotted a small mongrel of an indeterminable breed. But to Tom, it was a Jack Russell called Howl.